Summary of
Priorities for Completing the European Union's Single Market

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Following the global financial crisis, headway toward achieving a European Union single market plateaued, in parallel with a painfully slow economic recovery. In this thorough study, economist Jan Stráský suggests that kick-starting market integration will revive growth. The critical push is in the prioritization of short- and long-term policy objectives. With the caveat that the report is more accessible to the policy wonk than the lay reader, getAbstract recommends this instructive analysis to those interested in understanding the arcana of EU markets.

About the Author

Jan Stráský is an economist at the OECD.

Summary

Obstacles have always marked the path to a European Union single market, and progress hit a lull following the global financial crisis. In turn, ongoing barriers to economic integration are hampering economic recovery. Targeted structural reforms to restart the single-market momentum would also boost growth. In particular, piecemeal financial rules, hurdles to labor mobility and the dissimilar regulation of goods and services across the EU member states remain problems that policy makers must address.

Diverging levels of sovereign debt and economic resources among EU members result in different...